Page 1 of 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Plaintiff, v. EXPAND, INC., a corporation, also d/b/a Gigats, also d/b/a Education Match, also d/b/a SoftRock, Inc., and AYMAN A. DIFRAWI, a/k/a Alec Difrawi, a/k/a Ayman El-Difrawi, individually and as an officer or director of EXPAND, INC. Defendants. Case No. ____________ STIPULATED ORDER FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND MONETARY JUDGMENT Plaintiff, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”), filed its Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief (“Complaint”), for a permanent injunction and other equitable relief in this matter, pursuant to Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The Commission and Defendants stipulate to the entry of this Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Monetary Judgment (“Order”) to resolve all matters in dispute in this action between them. THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows: FINDINGS 1. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter. 2. The Complaint charges that Defendants participated in deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, in connection with Third-Party Lead Generation and the advertising, marketing, or promoting of employment opportunities for sale to Case 6:16-cv-00714-CEM-TBS Document 2-1 Filed 04/28/16 Page 1 of 19 PageID 24
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION · Plaintiff, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”), filed its Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief (“Complaint”),
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Plaintiff, v. EXPAND, INC., a corporation, also d/b/a Gigats, also d/b/a Education Match, also d/b/a SoftRock, Inc., and AYMAN A. DIFRAWI, a/k/a Alec Difrawi, a/k/a Ayman El-Difrawi, individually and as an officer or director of EXPAND, INC. Defendants.
Case No. ____________ STIPULATED ORDER FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND MONETARY JUDGMENT
Plaintiff, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”), filed its Complaint for
Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief (“Complaint”), for a permanent injunction and
other equitable relief in this matter, pursuant to Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act
(“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The Commission and Defendants stipulate to the entry of this
Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Monetary Judgment (“Order”) to resolve all matters
in dispute in this action between them.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows:
FINDINGS
1. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter.
2. The Complaint charges that Defendants participated in deceptive acts or practices in
violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, in connection with Third-Party Lead
Generation and the advertising, marketing, or promoting of employment opportunities for sale to
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educational and other institutions.
3. Defendants neither admit nor deny any of the allegations in the Complaint, except as
specifically stated in this Order. Only for purposes of this action, Defendants admit the facts
necessary to establish jurisdiction.
4. Defendants waive any claim that they may have under the Equal Access to Justice
Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, concerning the prosecution of this action through the date of this Order, and
agree to bear their own costs and attorney fees.
5. Defendants and the Commission waive all rights to appeal or otherwise challenge or
contest the validity of this Order.
DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Order, the following definitions apply:
A. “Clear(ly) and conspicuous(ly)” means that a required disclosure is difficult to
miss (i.e., easily noticeable) and easily understandable by ordinary consumers, including in all of
the following ways:
1. In any communication that is solely visual or solely audible, the disclosure
must be made through the same means through which the communication is presented. In
any communication that includes a representation requiring the disclosure and is made
through both visual and audible means, such as a television advertisement, the disclosure
must be made through the same means through which the representation is presented.
2. A visual disclosure, by its size, contrast, location, the length of time it
appears, and other characteristics, must stand out from any accompanying text or other
visual elements so that it is easily noticed, read, and understood.
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3. An audible disclosure, including by telephone or streaming video, must be
delivered in a volume, speed, and cadence sufficient for ordinary consumers to easily hear
and understand it.
4. In any communication using an interactive electronic medium, such as the
Internet or software, the disclosure must be unavoidable.
5. The disclosure must use diction and syntax understandable to ordinary
consumers and must appear in each language in which the representation that requires the
disclosure appears.
6. The disclosure must comply with these requirements in each medium
through which it is received, including all electronic devices and face-to-face
communications.
7. The disclosure must not be contradicted or mitigated by, or inconsistent
with, anything else in the communication.
8. When the representation or sales practice targets a specific audience, such as
children, the elderly, or the terminally ill, “ordinary consumers” includes reasonable
members of that group.
B. “Covered Information” means information from or about an individual consumer,
including, but not limited to (a) first and last name; (b) a home or other physical address, including
street name and name of city or town; (c) an email address or other online contact information, such
as an instant messaging user identifier or a screen name; (d) a telephone number; (e) a Social
Security number; (f) a driver’s license or other government-issued identification number; (g) a
B. For matters concerning this Order, the Commission is authorized to communicate
directly with each Defendant. Defendant must permit representatives of the Commission to
interview any employee or other person affiliated with any Defendant who has agreed to such an
interview. The person interviewed may have counsel present.
C. The Commission may use all other lawful means, including posing, through its
representatives as consumers, suppliers, or other individuals or entities, to Defendants or any
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individual or entity affiliated with Defendants, without the necessity of identification or prior
notice. Nothing in this Order limits the Commission’s lawful use of compulsory process, pursuant
to Sections 9 and 20 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 49, 57b-1.
D. Upon written request from a representative of the Commission, any consumer
reporting agency must furnish consumer reports concerning Individual Defendants, pursuant to
Section 604(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681b(a)(1).
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ATTACHMENT A
[Insert date] Dear Expand Customer,
This letter is to inform you that Expand, Inc. (also d/b/a Gigats, also d/b/a Education Match, also d/b/a SoftRock, Inc.) recently settled a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission regarding Expand’s lead generation business. The FTC complaint alleged that we violated Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), in connection with generating consumer leads for sale to educational and other institutions.
The settlement permits us to continue generating and selling leads as long as we do so in a manner which does not deceive consumers. The settlement also requires us to request that lead partners like you that purchased or received consumer information from us stop using, sharing, or transferring consumer information received from us between [date] and [date] where you have yet to communicate with the consumer. We are further required to request that partners destroy any such information that is in their possession, custody, or control.
We have attached a copy of our settlement order with the Federal Trade Commission, as well as a copy of the complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission. Sincerely Yours, [Insert Signature Block]
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